Press Releases
Wyden, Merkley Statement on Klamath Agreements Announcement
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, today released the following statement after the announcement that the governors of Oregon and California, along with the Department of the Interior, will begin a process to remove the Klamath River Basin dams in a step forward to address water issues affecting the region. "These agreements are a major step forward toward implementing the Klamath Basin water agreements. One agreement lays out a path toward a history-making … Continue Reading
April 04, 2016
Wyden, Heinrich Praise CIA Decision to Drop Email Destruction Proposal
Washington, D.C. - Senate Intelligence Committee members Sens. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., praised the CIA's decision to drop a proposal to destroy the vast majority of its emails, rather than archive them like other government agencies. Wyden and Heinrich issued a joint statement commending the CIA's decision to drop the plan: "Given the grave importance of CIA operations, it is critical to preserve the agency's emails, to enable independent oversight and an accurate … Continue Reading
April 04, 2016
Wyden Statement on Passage of Defend Trade Secrets Act
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., issued the following statement on the passage of the Defend Trade Secrets Act Monday evening: "I supported this legislation because trade secrets have come under greater and greater threat from international espionage and require special protections if they are to retain their value," Wyden said. "Uniquely, trade secrets can lose some or all of their value when exposed, making their protection from bad actors that much more critical. I want to continue working to … Continue Reading
March 30, 2016
Wyden Calls for New Compact for Privacy and Security in the Digital Age
San Francisco - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., laid out a bold new vision for protecting Americans' basic freedoms, and warned of dangerous consequences if the nation allows unchecked expansion of government surveillance. "The rapid advances in technology over the past 20 years threaten the rights of every single American more immediately and more personally than most people fully understand," Wyden said on Wednesday. "For centuries, individual liberty was protected by technological limitations. … Continue Reading
March 30, 2016
Wyden, Senators Push for New Resources to Combat Sexual Assault on College Campuses
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., along with a bipartisan group of their colleagues, are calling for new federal resources to address the troubling and pervasive problem of sexual assault on college and university campuses across the country. "Every year, tens of thousands of women and men who attend college in the U.S. become victims of sexual assault," the senators wrote in a letter to the Appropriations Subcommittee … Continue Reading
March 25, 2016
Wyden Pushes for Boost in Biomass Energy
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is pressing for increased production of sustainable, low-carbon biomass energy to heat and power homes and businesses, while reducing the risk of wildfires and creating jobs in rural areas. In letters to Senate appropriators, Wyden highlighted the important role of biomass programs at the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Energy in helping create innovative technologies for low-carbon biomass energy. In addition to its potential to provide … Continue Reading
March 25, 2016
Wyden, Merkley Fight to Protect Coastal Communities
Washington, D.C. - Oregon's senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley are fighting to ensure coastal communities in Oregon have the resources they need to protect themselves against earthquakes, major storms and the impacts of climate change. Wyden and Merkley are urging Congress to prioritize the West Coast Earthquake Early Warning System, which is being developed by the U.S. Geological Survey, the University of Oregon, the California Institute of Technology, the University of California, Berkley, … Continue Reading
March 24, 2016
Wyden Urges AG Lynch to Comply With ACLU Request for Secret Memo
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., urged Attorney General Loretta Lynch to declassify and make public a secret memo by the Office of Legal Counsel that is the subject of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. Wyden has repeatedly asked the administration to declassify and withdraw the classified legal opinion, in a committee hearing as well as letters to former Attorney General Eric Holder and CIA Director Brennan. Text of the letter is below, or available here. March 24, 2016 Dear … Continue Reading
March 24, 2016
Advisory: Wyden To Deliver Major Speech on Future of Privacy in the Digital Age
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., will address RightsCon on Wednesday, March 30, to deliver a major speech on the future of privacy in the digital age. Wyden will argue that precedents set today will have lasting - and potentially dangerous - implications for personal privacy and security. What: Sen. Ron Wyden on Privacy in the Digital Age When: 2:30 p.m. PDT, March 30 Where: RightsCon at Mission Bay Conference Center, 1675 Owens St #251, San Francisco, CA Reporters interested in … Continue Reading
March 23, 2016
Wyden, Senate Democrats Call to End the Ban on CDC Gun Violence Research
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and 16 Senators are urging Senate appropriators to dedicate funds for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to conduct research into the causes and prevention of gun violence in the United States. A 1996 Republican appropriations rider prohibits federal funds from being used to advocate or promote gun control, which some have misconstrued as a ban on funding scientific research into the causes of gun violence. The author of the … Continue Reading
March 22, 2016
Wyden Gets “Drill Pay” Results for Guardsmen and Reservists
Washington, DC - U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) today announced the VA will offer relief from an unfair hardship for National Guardsmen and Reservists in Oregon, in response to a request by Wyden earlier this year. The change by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs helps Guardsmen and Reservists nationwide who, because of paperwork delays at the VA, were unexpectedly having their VA benefit checks interrupted for an unreasonable period of time. "I am gratified that the VA has sliced through … Continue Reading
March 21, 2016
Wyden, Merkley Seek Improved Federal Air Quality Programs
Washington, DC -- U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley are urging their colleagues to improve federal air quality programs in the wake of several Portland neighborhoods learning last month that there are high levels of heavy metals in the air. "The EPA aims to protect air quality but, as we are seeing in Oregon this cannot be done without additional funding to implement air quality programs at a scale that is relevant to defend human health," Wyden and Merkley wrote the Senate … Continue Reading
March 18, 2016
Wyden, Grassley, McCaskill, Bill Expands Whistleblower Protections to the Legislative Branch
WASHINGTON - In celebration of Sunshine Week, Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., joined Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Senator Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., in introducing legislation to shield congressional employees from retaliation when they call attention to fraud, waste or mismanagement. The bill extends whistleblower protections in place at many executive branch agencies to the legislative branch of government. "Everyone in government needs to do more to protect … Continue Reading
March 18, 2016
Wyden, Blumenthal, Bipartisan Senators Urge VA to Extend Presumption of Agent Orange Exposure to More Veterans Who Served in Korean DMZ
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., led a bipartisan group of five senators in urging the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to extend the presumption of exposure to Agent Orange to provide more veterans who served in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) access to critical health care benefits. Currently, only veterans who served in the Korean DMZ during specific dates are granted a presumption of exposure to Agent Orange, which allows … Continue Reading
March 17, 2016
Wyden, Blumenauer Introduce Bill to Open Access to Outdoor Recreation
Washington, D.C. - Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Earl Blumenauer today introduced legislation to increase outdoor recreation access for visitors and boost rural economies in Oregon and nationwide. Based on input from Oregonians about how to remove bureaucratic roadblocks to public lands, the Recreation Not Red-Tape (RNR) Act expands outdoor recreation opportunities for all Americans, especially underserved communities such as veterans, seniors and young people, for the first time holds … Continue Reading
March 15, 2016
Wyden, Merkley, Baldwin Introduce Major College Affordability Reform Legislation
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, along with Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., today introduced the "In The Red" Act, a major reform to address college affordability and put America on a path toward debt-free college. The In The Red Act will allow student loan borrowers to refinance outstanding debt at lower rates, increase Pell Grants to keep pace with rising costs and make new investments in community colleges. Additionally, the legislation will support holding … Continue Reading
March 15, 2016
Wyden, Merkley Praise Pac-12 for Addressing Athletic Transfers
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today praised the leaders of the Pac-12 Conference for responding quickly to their inquiry by adopting a tougher new conference-wide student conduct policy for transfer athletes seeking to enroll at a Pac-12 university. The two Oregon senators had urged the conference in a letter last month to consider several possible reforms, including one which would make transfer student athletes ineligible to enroll in a Pac-12 school if they'd … Continue Reading
March 09, 2016
Senate Dems: Students Deserve Immediate Debt Relief After Attending Schools Engaged in Deceptive & Predatory Practices
Washington, D.C. - Today, Oregon's U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, along with Senators Patty Murray, D-Wash., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Richard J. Durbin, D-Ill., and 29 Senate Democrats sent a letter to President Obama urging the administration to protect students who attended colleges or universities that engaged in unlawful, unfair, deceptive, and abusive practices. In 2015, Corinthian Colleges filed for bankruptcy and shut down all of its … Continue Reading
March 08, 2016
Wyden, Merkley Introduce Legislation to Impose Sanctions on Foreign Individuals Responsible for Violence Against the LGBT Community
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, along with Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ed Markey (D-MA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), have introduced the Global Respect Act, legislation that would impose sanctions on foreign individuals responsible for human rights violations against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) individuals abroad. "LGBT rights are core human rights," Wyden said. "This bill sends the message that America will hold … Continue Reading
March 08, 2016
Wyden Pushes for Bipartisan Wildfire Funding Fix, More Air Quality Research Funding
Washington, D.C. - Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today asked the Chief of the Forest Service about the agency's ongoing support for a bipartisan wildfire funding fix that would free up more funding for the work that prevents the largest, most damaging wildfires. In a hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee today, Forest Service Chief Thomas Tidwell called a wildfire funding fix, "essential for the American public." Tidwell also said fixing fire borrowing would give the … Continue Reading
